SR GERALDINE COLLINS OF GLENDALOUGH HERMITAGE
THERE ARE three of us here, and I'm the new kid on the block, in that I only arrived four months ago. I love it. The hermitage is called Suaimhneas Chaoimhín - the Serenity of Kevin - and is run by the Sisters of Mercy and Glendalough parish.
The valley has such unique beauty we felt it would be nice for people to come to rest and be renewed by it. It's a place to be still and be uplifted by the beauty of the countryside. Our ethos is Catholic, but we welcome people of all traditions - anyone searching for something deeper.
A lot of our guests have a sense that what they had found during the Celtic Tiger wasn't enough, though they seemed from the outside to have everything. In other cases people just need a little space and time to heal.
I wake at 6.30am and spend some time in prayer - it's part of my life, and it centres me. After breakfast we go to Mass. We have five little hermitages to offer, four singles and a double, as well as a beautiful prayer space. All are welcome to join us for morning and evening prayer.
We are available to those guests who want to talk. Others like to be on their own.
Guests mainly arrive at midday or in the evening, often by bus, in which case we go down to welcome them.
They are of all ages, from their 20s to their 70s. They can stay for a weekend, or a month, but mostly a week.
The hermitages are simple but beautiful. They're cosy and warm but by no means luxurious. Each has a rocking chair and an open fire. We like to make them beautiful for people in a simple way, perhaps by putting in flowers. Guests spend a lot of their time walking in the valley.
We look after school groups and other groups too, and we're increasingly looking to bring people on day trips, so they too can benefit from this beautiful place.
So many people are just exhausted: couples suffering combat fatigue, young people battling with traffic and jobs.
I'd love them to know that we're here and know that there is a love and a support available to them that offer them rest and encouragement without censure.
In the afternoon we normally have some free time. We have our own lives to lead too, doing laundry, cooking, catching up with e-mails, meeting friends.
At 6pm we have evening reflection. After that we'll watch the telly, catch the news. We might read or pray on our own, and then bed.
There's a line I love: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike." That's what we offer, I hope.
• In conversation with Sandra O'Connell
• Glendalough Hermitage, Co Wicklow, 0404-45777, www.hermitage.dublindiocese. ie